Nov. 8, 2016
AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn volleyball team heads to rival Alabama for a Wednesday night tilt, Nov. 9, on ESPNU. The Tigers and the Tide will face off at 5 p.m. CT in Foster Auditorium.
QUICK HITS
- Auburn enters the weekend with a 14-12 overall record and are fifth in the SEC at 8-5 against league opponents.
- Auburn split a weekend homestand, falling to then-No. 18 Kentucky in five (23-25, 22-25, 26-24, 30-28, 15-12) and defeating Ole Miss in five (23-25, 25-16, 25-19, 21-25, 15-13). Both matches were held in Auburn Arena.
- This past weekend was a big one for junior libero Jesse Earl. The Tiger reached the 1,000 dig mark against Kentucky Friday night, becoming the 12th student-athlete in program history to get to that number.
- In addition, Earl broke her own single-season digs record vs. Ole Miss. She currently has 537 on the year after breaking the record last season with 516.
- Junior setter Alexa Filley leads the team with 16 double-doubles this season. That total is tied for first overall among SEC opponents.
- Filley recently moved up in Auburn's career assists rankings and is now third with 3,418 in her career.
- After a solid weekend vs. Kentucky and Ole Miss, she moved up to third on Auburn's single season assists list (rally scoring only) with 1,017 on the season and now owns the top three spots on that list.
SCOUTING ALABAMA
- The Alabama Crimson Tide stand at 16-10 overall and are eighth in the SEC with a 5-8 record. The team is coming off a 1-1 performance last week, falling to Texas A&M before defeating Arkansas.
- Redshirt senior Krystal Rivers leads the conference and the NCAA in total kills with 586 and is atop of the SEC and second nationally in kills/set at 5.86.
- Rivers is also first in the league and second in the nation with a 6.63 points/set average. Her .36 aces/set average is sixth among SEC opponents.
- Freshman setter Shannon Mikesky stands fourth in the conference with a 10.76 assists/set average, while classmate Hayley McSparin is 10th in the SEC with a .338 hitting percentage.
A WIN OVER ALABAMA WOULD...
- Give Auburn the sweep of the Tide this season.
- Be Auburn's 15th victory of the season and ninth in SEC play.
AUBURN-ALABAMA SERIES
- Alabama leads the series with a 45-31 record, dating back to 1974.
- The storied series has been streaky for both teams throughout the years - the Tide went 15-3 in the 70s, Auburn was 16-4 in the 90s, Alabama was 12-2 in the early 00s.
- Auburn snapped a long Alabama winning streak in 2009 and captured five-straight Ws until 2012.
- Auburn's win earlier this season stopped a five-match skid to the Tide.
LAST TIME VS. ALABAMA - OCT. 9, 2016
- Auburn put together a balanced effort to defeat Alabama, 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-19, 25-19), in front of 1,407 fans in Auburn Arena. That attendance was the third-largest crowd in program history.
- A trio of Tigers had double-digit kills on the day. Freshman Enija Bidzane led the way with 14 kills, while classmate Gwyn Jones finished with 11. Senior Breanna Barksdale chipped 10 kills and junior Macy Reece added nine. Junior setter Alexa Filley picked up another double-double on the season, having 43 assists and 10 digs.
- Defensively, junior libero Jesse Earl had a match-best 24 digs and classmate Kelly Stewart finished with 10. Barksdale had a hand in six of Auburn's 10 blocks, while Bidzane totaled four.
UP NEXT
After earning a few days off, the Tigers travel to nationally-ranked Missouri for a 6:30 p.m. CT match, Nov. 18. Auburn returns to The Plains for a Sunday after tilt vs. South Carolina, Nov. 20.